Here is a story about a Boulder addict Alcoholic who died in a Boulder Drug house last Friday night. You probably didn’t hear about it cause it was just another drug overdose death. But the police had to deal with it. This is from my Alcoholics Anonymous Facebook page ” An AA Diary”
Meyer was 43 years old, twice divorced with 3 kids by two former wives. He hadn’t seen any of them in nearly 5 years.
Meyer grew up here in Boulder with his two brothers and Mom in section 8 low income housing. Mom had mental illness and a drug problem . When Meyer was 20 he married Brandy, his Boulder High sweetheart. They both did drugs and drank and had one child, a boy named Franklin. 3 years into the marriage Brandy died of a drug overdose in a Boulder crack house.
Meyer started going to AA after he had multiple DUIs and arrests for assault and theft.. He was in and out of Boulder Jail and halfway houses. I met him in AA and sponsored him for about a day until he disappeared into the world of drugs and alcohol.
Meyer met Alexa and married her. She was not an alcoholic/addict. They had two children, but Meyer soon left the marriage for life on the streets, running and gunning for crack and heroin.. and of course alcohol. His addiction pulled him back.
This leads us up to last Friday night where Meyer overdosed in a Boulder Drug house. The police were called as were emergency services. He was pronounced DOA when paramedics could not revive Meyer. Two Boulder PD officers went to Meyers mothers house at 1:00 am in the morning. Knocked on the door and gave her the news of the death of her son. Mom had done everything she could to help her son and she was devastated by the news . The officers tried to console her. Mom called her other two sons Andy and Peter. They came over to console her.
Andy is a general manager of a popular Boulder Restaurant and is not an addict. Peter is a project manager for a Boulder High tech company and has no addiction problems. In fact both of them stayed away from alcohol and drugs since they saw what they did to everyone they knew. They were raised by a single mom with no father in sight.
I got to know the family as a result of my TV show. The boys lived down the street in low income housing and would come by to see what I was upto each day after school. I gave them jobs, mowing the lawn, doing production work on the show. I also took them to video game arcades on the hill and would point out the addicts who were there scoring drugs.
It was a way to say “Steer clear of these people and this place”. And they did . All except for Meyer. He was already in the Boulder drug world at 15. The other boys were 13 and 10… We can’t save them all from the streets but we can try. As Hillary Clinton said It takes a Village. So I was doing my part.
Over the past few days. Funeral arrangements are being made for Meyer. The city will pay for it all since Meyer was homeless and indigent. Mom is still on section 8 since drugs and alcohol didn’t do her any good. Peter and Andy are being a dad to Meyers’ 3 kids. and support to his ex wife.
But everybody is pretty pissed off at Meyer because he killed himself with drugs on the streets. Why didn’t he clean up and become a responsible member of society and help raise his kids?
They answer is drugs and alcohol took over his life , put him on the street and then killed him there.
Mom is in denial about Meyer’s life of drugs and alcohol. She thinks it is just misfortune. She wants his memorial at the BandShell with other drug addicts. Her sons are disgusted by the idea and will not go and don’t want his kids to be associated with street people. One of them is headed to University next year. Andy is paying for it. The other two are in Boulder High and are clean from drugs and doing well.
End of Story.
names have been changed to protect the family
note: We should not glorify street drug life . It is hell for those involved. I always advocate StepDenver.org A hand up not a hand out for street people